


Of Cardboard Cutouts and a Courageous Carlos

by rusherforJesus458



Category: Big Time Rush (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:55:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27369139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rusherforJesus458/pseuds/rusherforJesus458
Summary: Pride, prejudice, and the story of how Carlos took on the entire eighth grade one spooky Halloween night.
Kudos: 2





	Of Cardboard Cutouts and a Courageous Carlos

**Author's Note:**

> Guys. . .I don't even know what this is, LOL. This is probably the worst thing I've ever written, but it's for the BTR Writers' Support and Plot Adoption Forum's Halloween Challenge on FF, and I promised I'd get something in. But yeah, no joke this is terrible. Feel free to judge me harshly. The ending is just. . . this is ridiculous.
> 
> Brace yourselves guys. I didn't even edit/spellcheck this. You're in for a wild ride.
> 
> Also, I don't remember the boys' Minnesota high school ever being mentioned by name, so I named it St. Lawerence's. Ya know, because of the river with the Great Lakes thing. School's always have bland names so I figured nothing could be more bland than a river (no offense if anyone loves that river).
> 
> I feel it completely unnecessary to point out that I don't own BTR, Pride and Prejudice, Reese's, or any other brand or title that I mentioned here, but I'm doing it anyway.
> 
> Also, when you're finished, go read the other challenge entries! They're really good!
> 
> Again, brace yourselves. XD

_"But one word from you will silence me on this subject forever."_

_"Oh, my feelings. . .my feelings are. . . I'm ashamed to remember what I said then. My feelings are so different. In fact, they are quite the opposite."_

James began to sob, rubbing vigorously at his eyes while shouting, "Yes, Lizzy! _Yes_!" at his laptop screen. He sniffed, wiping his nose with the back of his hand and moving to return to his viewing when his bedroom door suddenly flew open.

Kendall burst in, clad in an embarrassingly red Lightning McQueen costume, complete with a stuffed car that encircled his waist. "Dude!" he exclaimed. "I am _so_ ready!" He froze upon seeing James, and the smile fell from his face. "Are you okay?" he asked quickly.

James rushed to close his laptop. "I'm good," he replied, swiping at his cheeks.

Kendall hurried over. "You're crying. What's the matter?" He eyed the laptop suspiciously. "Are you reading mean comments on Twitter again?" He flipped open the laptop, ignoring his friend's pleas for him to stop. "James, I've _told you_ -" He backed out of the full-screen view, then stopped. He turned to James with an unreadable look and stared at him for a few moments before breaking the awkward silence. ". . . _'Pride and Prejudice?' Really?_ "

"Hey, it's a good movie!"

Kendall huffed. "Okay, then," he muttered awkwardly. "My mom watches that, but whatever floats your boat." He sighed, leaning against the wall across from James' bed rather awkwardly because of his costume. "I'm so excited," he began, breaking out into a smile once more. "My mom hasn't let me have candy _all week_. She's lucky I haven't exploded."

James chuckled, rolling off his bed and straightening his clothes.

Kendall eyed the costume curiously. "What're you going as?"

An incredulous look preceded the response. "Um, I'm Mr. Darcy. Duh."

Kendall sighed. "James. . ." he whined. "That's lame."

James scoffed. "Uh, it is _not_. Ladies love him."

"Yeah. Ladies that are my mom's age." He grimaced. "And you look like something out of a Shakespearean tragedy. It's tacky."

The taller boy stuck his nose into the air. "I'll have you know, this outfit is the real deal." He came towards the blonde, shooing him away with a wave of his hand and opening his sliding closet door. "I strive for authenticity in my costumes." He removed something large and rather cumbersome, setting it upright on the floor and closing the closet behind it.

Kendall stared, dumbfounded and a bit creeped out, to say the least. "You. . . you have a life-size cardboard cut out of Colin Firth in your _closet_?!"

James looked confused, as if this was ordinary behavior for other 13-year-old hockey players in their small town. "For authenticity," he repeated in a dramatic British accent. He grabbed a fancy-looking black hat from his bed and stopped, clicking his heels together and striking a regal pose almost identical to the cutout's. "See?"

"Uh. . .yeah."

James smiled, tossing the hat aside and plopping down on the bed, being careful not to crush the tail of his coat. "Girls _flocked_ to him when that came out."

"And. . .you think girls will. . .flock to you?"

James leaned back on the pillows, popping the collar of his coat. " _Duh_. I'm a total chick magnet to begin with, this'll just enhance my date-ability. They're gonna go nuts at the Halloween Bash tonight." He smiled smuggly. "I might even get my first kiss."

Kendall chuckled. "Yeah, good luck with that."

The door flew open and hit the wall with a resounding bang, as a figure clothed in a black cloak rushed in from the hallway. "Mwahahahaha!" the person laughed, producing a blue light saber from inside the cloak and brandishing it like a sword. He made accompanying noises before pushing the hood back to reveal himself.

"Carlitos is in the house!" James cheered as Kendall laughed.

Carlos smiled, twirling the light saber in his hands. "What do you guys think?" he asked. "I'm a sith."

James' brow furrowed. "Siths have red light sabers, dude."

". . . Are you _kidding me_?! I spent ten bucks on this thing!"

"Blue is for the good guys," Kendall chuckled. "It probably doesn't matter, though. No one cares. And anyway, you can enter the Worst Costume segment with me." "

Carlos still pouted before suddenly glancing around the room curiously. "Oh my gosh," he said, a wide smiling growing over his face. "Did I get here before _Logan_?!"

James nodded. "Yup. I haven't even heard from him yet. It's not like him to be late."

"Maybe he's just..."

Carlos trailed off as his eyes came to rest on the Mr. Darcy cut-out. He eyed it curiously. "You're a...lookin' a little _stiff_ there, pal."

Kendall snorted while James rolled his eyes.

Carlos began to circle the figure, his forehead furrowing in confusion. "Uh, James? How long have you had this?"

"A few weeks. Why?"

Carlos looked from James to Kendall and back again. "You know how all the guys on the hockey team call you a girl 'cause you do theatre?"

"Yeah?"

". . .This isn't helping your case."

James crossed his arms over his chest. "Uh, guys can admire Colin Firth too! He's a legend!"

"And right now, his eyes are boring into my soul. I feel violated."

"Okay," Kendall said quickly, grabbing the figure awkwardly around the waist. "I'm kind of creeped out too. Mr. Darcy's going in your bathroom for now." He opened the door of the connected bathroom, tossing the figure inside without a care before closing the door again. "So much better."

James rolled his eyes but said nothing.

Something suddenly collided loudly with James' bedroom window, and an, "Ah, stupid glass!" echoed from outside.

Carlos smiled, pointing. "Guys, I found Logan!" he cried cheerfully.

The older boy clad in a generic white sheet with the eyes cut out) quickly pushed open the window, rubbing his forehead as he climbed inside. "Old Ms. Mavis' dog is out," he muttered. "I had to go around the block _three times_ to get away from him."

Kendall's brow furrowed. "Dude, Baxter's like, the nicest dog ever."

"Yeah, to _you guys_. He didn't bite you the day you moved here."

James chuckled. "That was your own fault. You were so small, you looked like a dog treat."

Carlos and Kendall guffawed while Logan sent James a heated glare before sighing heavily. He pushed Kendall away from the bathroom door and moved to head inside. "I almost peed myself trying to get awa- _ah_!" He flew out of the room rather dramatically, hand on his chest and eyes wide as he stared in disbelief at the Colin Firth cut-out, now leaning awkwardly against the bathtub.

"Oh yeah," Carlos chuckled. "We forgot. Colin's in there."

An awkward silence fell as Logan gave James an utterly confused look, to which the taller boy shrugged.

Logan sighed. "I really need new friends."

* * *

St. Lawerence Middle School, located in western Duluth, had little else to its name (to be proud of, anyway) aside from its annual Halloween Bash. It was thrown for the older kids who were too "cool" to trick-or-treat, but still too young to let go of the holiday entirely. It was open to several schools in the area as well, and boasted a variety of activities. One of these, the most notable, was the "Worst Costume" contest. It encouraged students to dress in the corniest costumes they could find, and Kendall had won First Place the past two years in a row.

He was positive he would be a shoe-in this year as well, and he grinned as he and his friends entered the cafeteria. The room had been transformed into something out of "The Addams Family," complete with a zombie DJ and haunted bounce castle in the far corner. The students on the dance floor, as well as those gathered around the surrounding refreshment tables, were all dressed in the stereotypical Halloween costumes: ghosts, zombies, knights, etc. It was as though none had even tried to have an ounce of originality.

Although really, only Kendall Knight had the guts to walk into a room full of middle schoolers while wearing a Lightning McQueen costume, all while strutting as though he was a blonde John Travolta.

Carlos almost immediately headed for the bobbing for apples game, while James struck up a conversation with a group of girls dressed as Fifth Harmony. . .plus one dressed as the Map from "Dora the Explorer," but the more the merrier, right?

Logan instinctively headed for the back corner of the room, near where the DJ was and far away from the crowd of children on the dance floor and at the snack tables. The music was deafeningly loud and he turned, intent on complaining to Kendall when he realized the older boy was no longer by his side.

Logan heaved a sigh, settling for pressing his hands over his ears and leaning discreetly against one of the large black speakers that flanked the DJ's table on either side. He was more than willing to hide there for the duration of the event; or at least until they announced the winners of the Worst Costume contest. He had to support Kendall and his. . .endeavors. However odd they may be.

He'd only been standing around for a few minutes when something poked him harshly in the shoulder, causing him to stumble foreword and drop his fingers from his ears. He turned, startled as he came face to face Jackson Morris.

"What's up, nerd?" the boy sneered, grinning.

Jackson, captain of the hockey team (much to Kendall's annoyance), towered over Logan by at least a foot. He was considerably heavier too, and he was not a person Logan wanted to cross on a good day, let alone in dimly lit corner with no security cameras.

He swallowed hard but kept his voice steady as he replied, "Not much. Nice costume, man."

Jackson was dressed, quite unimpressively, as. . .wait for it. . .another zombie. Nonetheless, he popped the collar of his jacket and chuckled, "Yeah. It's a hundred times better than yours." He poked at one of the eye holes, ripping it. "What's the matter, dad couldn't afford a new sheet this year?"

Logan stepped back, quite unwilling to bat the hand away since it would probably guarantee a punch in the face. "Heh," he laughed awkwardly. "Guess not." _Kendall, where are you. . ._

Another step back sent Logan into something solid, and he turned, locking eyes with another one of Jackson's friends.

The boy (whose name escaped him at the moment) eyed Logan as though he was easy prey. "What's up? Going somewhere?"

"Uh, n-no," Logan stammered, quickly realizing he was in a precarious situation. Seriously, where were the guys?!

Jackson advanced, poking Logan roughly in the chest. "So, you wanna hang out with us tonight?" He chuckled. "We could have a lot of fun."

Logan laughed shakily. "Um, ya know, as exciting as that sounds, I've actually got plans-"

"Are you saying _no_?"

Well, yes. That was precisely what he was saying. Couldn't he understand English?

"Uh. . . _yeah_?"

Jackson's eyes darkened and he took another step forward, putting himself merely a few inches away from Logan's face. " _You_ ," he spat, poking him again and causing the shorter boy to stumble backwards. "Are gonna meet us by the alley in half an hour, or so help me, I will break all of your fingers individually and then beat you with your own arms!"

Once again, Logan stumbled into the other kid's chest, and he looked back and forth between them anxiously. "My friend's are here," he said quickly. "You put a hand on me and Kendall will knock you into the middle of next week."

"Is that a threat?"

". . .Uh, from him? It will be."

His dad always told him his mouth got him in trouble. And of course, his dad was right.

Jackson slammed into him with enough force to knock Logan right off his feet, sailing back and colliding with the DJ table hard enough to knock it clean over. The man jumped back, exclaiming in shock and anger as his equipment crashed to the floor, some of it shattering into pieces. One of the speakers tipped over, smacking the edge of a snack table and in turn sending several of the tables (and their edible contents) flying.

The room fell abruptly silent as Logan scrambled to painfully pick himself up from the wreckage. The entire room was staring at him now, giving him dirty looks as they eyed the ruined equipment. It was clear there would be no party now.

He hadn't realized that Jackson and his friend had mysteriously distanced themselves from the scene, and the taller boy now scowled. "Wow, great going nerd!" he yelled angrily. Several others voiced their approval with his statement as he continued. "You wrecked our party!"

Kendall suddenly came up behind them (with James not far behind), seething and clearly having seen everything. "I'm gonna wreck you in a minute," he muttered, giving Jackson a threatening glare.

Carlos dashed over from the snack tables, a half eaten chocolate bar in his hand. "Guys, knock it off!" he cried, giving Kendall a warning look. He turned to face the rest of the room. "Guys, lay off Logan. So he tripped. He's a clutz, he breaks things all the time! He can't help it!"

"Uh, that would be you," Logan whispered

"Shut up," Carlos muttered back, "unless you want them to murder you with a bag of Reese's Pieces." He turned to face the large group again. "Are you guys seriously getting ready to cream a guy over some music? It's Halloween! We don't need a DJ! We don't need a bounce castle! Heck, we don't even need this _party_! Halloween's about having fun and doing some good old-fashioned trick-or-treating, and eating candy and doing it all _together_! It's about friendship!" He developed a sort of triumphant look on his face. "Now, _who's with me_?!"

The group stared at him, their glares and dangerous looks unchanging.

"Dude," Logan whispered. "I think we're toast."

Carlos cleared his throat awkwardly. "Give me one second," he announced loudly, reaching over to a nearby table and grabbing a massive bowl of candy. He dumped it into a pillowcase he'd brought, and slung the pillowcase over his shoulder before giving Logan a frightened look and shouting, " _Run_!"

They bolted with Kendall and James on their heels. The group behind them gave an angry cry before following in hot pursuit. Pieces and boxes of candy, snacks, juice boxes, and water bottles hit them as they darted out the front doors and down the sidewalk.

"Where do we go?" Logan cried, wincing as a Butterfinger hit him in the back of the head.

"My house is closest!" James shouted, panting.

They ran the mere two blocks to the Diamond house, throwing open the front door and hurrying inside just as the crowd descended on the front lawn.

"Hey!" James shouted, standing in the open doorway. "This is my yard! You can't-" A bowl of punch suddenly flew through the air, smacking James in the face and knocking him down hard.

"I'll avenge you, James!" Carlos cried, grabbing handfuls of candy from his bag and hurling them at their classmates.

Kendall dove for him, yelling, "No! Not the Reese's!" He grabbed the bag, digging through it and handing Carlos "acceptable" candy to be used as projectiles.

On the floor, James groggily sat up, shrieking as he realized he was covered in red. "I'm _bleeding_! There's so much _blood_! I'm gonna die! Logan, am I gonna die?!"

Logan, sitting dejectedly on the steps as he watched their hopes of trick-or-treating vanish, sighed. "We're probably all going to die at this point, so what does it matter?"

"That's not helping!"

"It's punch, James!" Kendall shouted over the racket. "It's red punch!"

Carlos ducked as a roll of toilet paper came flying through the door and bounced of James' head ("Not 'The Face' again!"). "I'm out of ammunition!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Kendall screamed, rifling through the bag and attempting to keep the good candy aside. A ladle, presumably for the punch, bounced off the doorframe and clattered to the ground with a metallic clang.

Carlos snapped his fingers. "I got it!" he cried, dashing up the stairs and turning the corner into James' bedroom. He headed for the bathroom, grabbing the desired object and moving to open the bedroom window. "Be free, Firth," he told the cardboard cut-out seriously.

"Hey!" he shouted out the window. The crowd quickly fell silent, staring up at him curiously as he continued, "The British are comin', suckahs!" before hurling the figure out the window.

It was almost majestic, really. Or, that was how students would later describe it. A cardboard cut-out of one of the most well-known British actors sailing through the air, in full 18-century dress and sporting an equally regal expression, before taking out a large section of eighth graders. The group screamed, unable to fully distinguish what was going on in the dark. Several others were taken to the ground by Mr. Darcy. Most immediately dispersed, stunned and horrified that Carlos had used such an odd object in defense of his friends.

The school talked about it for months, years, in fact. Carlos went down as a legend albeit an odd one. Because really, who else took on the entire eighth grade with a cardboard cut-out of Mr. Darcy on Halloween night?

**Author's Note:**

> XD I'm so sorry.
> 
> God bless and much love,
> 
> -rusherforJesus458


End file.
